NFL players, like other alpha males in society, are a tempestuous lot. The very things that are a boon to them on the playing field – aggression, competitiveness and desire – can work against them when it comes to “real” life in a civilized society. And the social circles these athletes operate in? Suffice to say you won’t find many quilting bees or tai chi classes involved.

It’s one thing for a young, impressionable athlete to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But the repeat offenders on this list just make you hang your head in shame – for the players, their teams, and the NFL in general.

Adam “Pacman” Jones (six arrests since 2000)

Last month, the talented cornerback for the Tennessee Titans told ESPN2’s “First Take” program that he had only been arrested twice. But according to police reports, as verified by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Jones has been arrested six times over the past two years.

In Jones’ defense, he may have simply not counted those arrests in which charges were dropped or pending. Those mostly had to do with public intoxication and marijuana. But his June 20 arrest on felony coercion charges after a Las Vegas club shooting are nothing to sneeze at. They’re the main reason he’s been suspended for the 2007 season.

Chris Henry (five)

The Cincinnati Bengals’ arrest parade was led by Henry, the former West Virginia wide receiver. Henry was suspended for the first eight games of the 2007 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Unlike Jones, none of Henry’s charges were dropped; he pled guilty on two occasions and turned himself in on another.

That last one was a doozy. On June 14, 2006, Henry admitted to police that he had provided alcohol earlier that year to three underage girls in a motel room in Covington, Ky. He was arrested, and on Jan. 25, 2007, Henry pled guilty. He served two days of a 90-day sentence, with the remainder suspended.

Terry “Tank” Johnson (four)

Johnson was the third man to fall this year under the league’s new “zero-tolerance” policy under commissioner Roger Goodell. His eight-game suspension might not be the end of it, though – the Chicago Bears released the massive defensive tackle in June after he was pulled over by police in Arizona.

Ironically, that charge (of “DUI Impaired to the Slightest Degree”) was dropped after Johnson was found to be under the legal limit. The other three arrests involved misdemeanor charges: one on aggravated assault and resisting arrest (dropped), the other two for handgun possession offenses. The second offense landed Johnson a four-month prison sentence at Cook County Jail for violating the terms of his probation.

David Boston (three)

A number of current NFL players have been arrested three times since 2000, but Boston earns special attention for having been arrested as a member of three different teams.

In 2002, the promising Tampa Bay Buccaneers when he was charged with DUI after local police found him passed out behind the wheel of an SUV. That case is pending.

Among those also arrested three times since 2000: Chris McAlister, David Terrell, Dwight Smith, Jarrod Cooper, Michael Pittman, Sam Brandon, Sebastian Janikowski and Ricky Williams.